When Silence Becomes Complicity in Cyber Harassment by Loan Apps 

By Emmanuel K. Gadasu

I was outraged when the Cyber Security Authority on May 31, 2025, issued a PUBLIC ALERT titled: Resurgence in Cyberbullying by Digital Lending Mobile Application Owners - Ref: CSA/CERT/MPA/2025-05/01. I had no option but to write this piece to register my displeasure about how most government agencies would wait till the worse happens before taking action – government institutions are known to be REACTIVE instead of being PROACTIVE. I hope this piece gets to the 
1.    All Media Houses 
2.    Minister of Communications, Digitalization, Technology and Innovations and heads of its agencies
3.    National Security Agencies – The Ghana Police Service, EOCO, OSP
4.    The Parliament of Ghana
5.    The Speaker of Parliament
6.    The President

Please keep sharing till it gets to them, till we see action, till Ghanaian digital space is free of these harmful loan apps from the Ghanaian Digital Space!

It is 2025, and yet, Ghana finds itself under siege—not from foreign adversaries or economic collapse, but from a silent, growing crisis festering in the digital ecosystem: cyberbullying, extortion, and harassment spearheaded by illegal digital lending mobile applications. And yet, what do we have to show for it? A public notice. Not a crackdown. Not an arrest. Not a coordinated digital sweep. Just another warning to the Ghanaian people, as if warnings ever protected anyone from predators.

Between January and May 2025, the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) received 377 reports of abuse linked to these apps, up from 218 cases for the entirety of 2024. That alone is alarming. But what's more horrifying is the silence of the very institutions we fund to act. The Bank of Ghana, the Data Protection Commission (DPC), National Communications Authority (NCA), NITA, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, and even the National Security Secretariat seem content watching from the sidelines. This is not a technical glitch. This is a national disgrace.

A Blatant Violation of Multiple Laws
These predatory apps violate:
• Act 930: The Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, which governs financial operations. Most of these apps are not licensed or registered.
•Act 843: The Data Protection Act, 2012, which requires that data controllers (including digital loan apps) register with the DPC and outline how they use personal data. Not one of these apps has complied.
•Cybersecurity Act, 2020: The Act empowers the CSA to investigate and coordinate cybersecurity responses. Yet, where is the enforcement?
•Criminal Offences Act, 1960: These apps engage in criminal extortion, blackmail, and fraud.
Despite this, the perpetrators roam freely, manipulating digital loopholes while ordinary Ghanaians suffer.

When Data Becomes a Weapon
Here is how they operate:
1.    A user installs the app.
2.    Without explicit consent or action, a small loan is deposited.
3.    A week later, the extortion begins:
o    Fake nude photos
o    Threats of exposure
o    Public shaming
o    Harassment of friends and family

Even after repayment, harassment continues. It’s not a financial service; it’s a criminal enterprise cloaked as fintech. Where do these apps get their access to your photos, contacts, and ID? YOU grant it during installation—sometimes unknowingly—and they use that data to wage psychological warfare.

Global Lessons Ignored
•India: Multiple suicides have been linked to these practices. In 2021 alone, several deaths across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were reported due to loan app harassment. India cracked down, banning several apps and jailing operators.
•Nigeria: The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) shut down illegal digital lenders, arrested operators, and collaborated with Google to remove them.
•Uganda: Authorities detained individuals operating illegal loan apps and permanently banned several platforms from the Google Play Store.
Ghana has all the legal frameworks. What we lack is political will and institutional courage.

Who Is Accountable?
Let’s name the institutions that must act:
• Bank of Ghana: Why are these apps operating financial services without licenses?
• Data Protection Commission: Where is the enforcement of data controller registration?
• Cyber Security Authority: Why no arrests? Why no shutdowns?
• National Communications Authority: How are these apps still online?
• NITA: Where are the guidelines for app hosting and enforcement?
• Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation: Where is the policy action?
•National Security: If blackmail and psychological abuse aren’t security issues, what is?

Immediate Steps
1.    Immediate removal of all listed apps from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
2.    Public database of unregistered or non-compliant apps.
3.    Investigations and prosecution of operators of these platforms.
4.    Freeze the bank and mobile money accounts associated with these apps.
5. Public enforcement updates every 30 days.
6.    Public education campaign warning citizens of the risks.
7.    Joint task force activation under the Cybersecurity Act to coordinate all actions.

History Is Repeating Itself
We’ve been here before:
• Menzgold: Silence led to a mass loss of investments.
• DKM Microfinance: State inaction caused thousands of livelihoods to collapse.
•Collapsed Banks: Regulators ignored early signs.

If we let this fester, the next tragedy is inevitable. It may not be financial—it could be emotional, psychological, or even loss of life.

A National Call to Action
To the CSA, DPC, BoG, NCA, and every regulator responsible: You are not doing us a favor. You are doing your job. We, the people of Ghana, fund your operations with our taxes. We deserve more than a warning. Let us not wait for a life to be lost or a protest to erupt before action is taken. These institutions have the authority, the legal backing, and the tools. What is missing is the will. The time to act is not tomorrow. It is today.

Emmanuel K. Gadasu
(CEH, CHFI, CDPS, CPIM, CIPP-E, MSc IT and Law)
ekgadasu@gmail.com 

#ProtectOurData #GhanaDeservesBetter #LoanAppHarassment #WhereAreTheRegulators #CyberSecurityNow